Archduke Ferdinand, who was cherished by the hot-blooded young man Princip, is on his way here with his wife Sophie Hotek.
That's right, Archduke Ferdinand came to Sarajevo not only to take care of state affairs, but also to take his wife to relax.
Speaking of which, although Archduke Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his marriage to his wife Sophie Hotek was troubled.
Because Sophie was just the daughter of a down-and-out count in Bohemia (down-and-out nobles were automatically reduced by one level). By chance, she met Archduke Ferdinand at the house of Grand Duchess Christine. But at that time, the two
There is a slight gap in status between the two. Archduke Ferdinand is the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while Sophie, the daughter of a count, is just a maid beside the archduchess.
In addition, the Grand Duchess Christine is pursuing His Excellency the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince is not interested in her. Instead, he is attracted to the beautiful maid beside him.
The subsequent results revealed that Sophie Hotek, the down-and-out count's daughter, had no reason to refuse Archduke Ferdinand's pursuit, and the two fell in love.
If it had been someone else, you would have known what happened next without having to guess. Sophie became Archduke Ferdinand’s lover, and their children would also become the Archduke’s illegitimate children (those without inheritance rights). Then the Archduke got married and had children.
, the two continued to maintain a relationship as lovers.
However, Archduke Ferdinand did not take the usual path. He was not satisfied with his relationship with Sophie's lover and wanted to marry her.
This became difficult. His uncle, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph I, and other Habsburg people tried to persuade him to change his mind. Because he was the heir to the noble Habsburg family and married the daughter of a down-and-out count.
What a thing.
He, the heir to the empire, was of noble birth. Not only did he marry a princess, he must at least be the daughter of a grand duke. He also needed a prominent duke from his ancestors. Otherwise, he would be a disgrace to the Habsburg family.
However, in the face of the persuasion of his family elders, the Archduke Ferdinand refused to change his mind and insisted that he would not marry Sophie. No matter how others tried to persuade him, the Archduke Ferdinand refused to change his mind. In the end, the Archduke chose
Marrying Sophie was considered a humiliation by most members of the Habsburg family and refused to forgive him.
As a price for Ferdinand's acquiescence in marrying Sophie, their descendants will not have inheritance rights, and Ferdinand will not be able to mention Sophie's name in public or official occasions.
As for Sophie, who married into the Habsburg family, life was equally difficult.
Although he received the title of Archduchess Hornberger, she had to endure endless humiliation. At royal banquets, she had to be the last to enter, and she was always placed at the last seat at the table, away from her husband.
Such all kinds of suppression made it difficult for Sophie to feel better, so Ferdinand often took his wife to relax when he was traveling.
Of course, as a qualified crown prince, he prioritizes getting down to business, so Archduke Ferdinand first went to the military exercise place and watched the military exercises completed by the 4th, 9th, and 17th Army Divisions. Later, he also met with the commander-in-chief of the exercise, the Army General Staff
General Herzendorf had a conversation, the focus of which was Serbia, the hypothetical country of this exercise.
During the conversation, the Austro-Hungarian Army Chief of Staff admitted frankly that if a war was launched against Serbia, Austria-Hungary would not need to mobilize. Then he briefly mentioned his concerns about Russia's attitude.
As for the concerns of the Chief of General Staff, Archduke Ferdinand persuaded him that Russia had great domestic difficulties and could not intervene in the Balkan War. Moreover, the Kaiser also gave him a guarantee that if Russia intervened in the Austro-Serbian conflict, Germany would assist Austria-Hungary.
Well, after resting for a night at the exercise location, Ferdinand and his wife only had one last stop left to visit Sarajevo to complete their trip in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In Sarajevo, preparations for welcoming the Crown Prince have already been completed. In the decree issued by Mayor Fehim, he asked the citizens to show hospitality. In addition, he also wrote down the driving route of Archduke Ferdinand (I am sure it is not...
Insider?). His original intention when writing the route was that he hoped that the shops on the roadside could display imperial flags and flowers on the streets.
As for the three Princes, with the help of the mayor, they mastered the driving route of the Crown Prince. So the three decided to act separately. Each of them took a Browning and a grenade.
As for the distribution of locations, Grabez prepared on Epiqua Street near the Chumurya Bridge, while Chabrinovitch prepared on the Chukaiser Bridge, and Princip prepared on the Latena Bridge.
If Archduke Ferdinand's driving route does not change, he will encounter Grabez first, followed by Chabrinovitch, and finally Princip.
This is not because Princip has backed down, but because Grabezh's marksmanship is the best among the three. In order to ensure the success rate, he executes the first assassination. But Chabrinovitch's marksmanship is not bad, so he executes the second assassination.
Assassination. As for Princip, he has the worst marksmanship, so do it as a last resort.
When the three of them were ready, Ferdinand and his wife also arrived in Sarajevo, accompanied by the military governor Potiorek.
When he came to Sarajevo today, Archduke Ferdinand wore the uniform of an Austrian cavalry general, a blue jacket, black trousers, and a red belt. His wife Sophie was also dressed very elegantly, wearing a white tulle and hat, with a tie on the hat.
with a bouquet of red roses.
After arriving, Ferdinand and his wife first reviewed the army. Then the Grand Duke and his wife boarded a royal convertible and followed the leading car. The mayor and the police chief were sitting in the leading car. Behind the Grand Duke and his wife, there were 3 cars.
Vehicles of accompanying persons.
A 21-gun salute was fired, and the royal parade began.
The parade motorcade followed the predetermined driving route to show the style of the crown prince and his wife to the residents of Sarajevo. The residents were also very enthusiastic, waving flags and throwing flowers at the crown prince and his wife.
The crown prince and his wife were also very considerate and waved to the enthusiastic residents on both sides.
For a time, the friendly interaction between the Crown Prince and the residents of Sarajevo was shown.
Soon the convoy will arrive at Epikoy Street and head towards Chumurya Bridge. This should be the time for the first assassin, Grabez, to take action.
The value of life cannot be measured by anything, and Grabez may have been able to regard death as home before, but when this emotional impulse gradually dissipated, his views on many things were different.
So when the convoy passed in front of him, the man with the best marksmanship in the assassination team did not take action, but watched the convoy drive past.
Unaware of the danger, the convoy of the crown prince and his wife continued to drive forward, and soon came to the second assassination point, the Caesar Bridge where Chabrinović was. The passionate Serbian young man who was about to assassinate did not hesitate. He unscrewed the grenade
The back cover of the vehicle was thrown towards the approaching vehicle of the crown prince and his wife.
However, when he was about to throw it, a plainclothes policeman noticed his move. His push caused a huge deviation in his aim, and the grenade was thrown directly into the river, making an explosion.
Subsequently, Chabrinović was arrested by the police.
Ferdinand and his wife were still a little frightened by the assassination they had just suffered. However, as the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Ferdinand did not want to change his itinerary, so he rejected the mayor's suggestion to change his itinerary. (For nobles, dignity is the most important thing.
, Princess Sissi was stabbed in the abdomen from behind, but she still wanted to maintain her dignity and did not announce her death)
Ferdinand and his wife's motorcade then continued to cruise along the established route, all the way to the Latena Bridge where Princip was.
At this time, the lead car suddenly had a tire puncture, causing the convoy to stop here. More importantly, Princip was only 3 meters away from Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. With such a good opportunity, Princip did not hesitate, he stepped forward,
Approaching the target, he fired three shots with a Browning pistol. The first shot hit Archduke Ferdinand in the chest, the second shot in his neck, and the third shot in Sophie's abdomen.
The sound of gunshots made everyone present go crazy. The driver immediately started the car and wanted to take the Grand Duke and his wife to the hospital. However, Princip, the perpetrator, was directly knocked down by the guards on the side.
Now that the Grand Duke has been shot, no one knows what this means.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
This chapter is considered an increase in rewards, and the rewards from book friends are enough to reach 100. Mantou would like to express my thanks here.
